THE DADDY SEARCH—a conversation with Lexi and Nick.

Harlequin has reissued 15 of my 21 backlist titles in ebook. Today I'm talking with Lexi Parker and Nick Clayton about THE DADDY SEARCH, a Silhouette Desire originally released in print in November 1999 and currently available in ebook.

Hello Lexi and Nick.  Welcome to my blog.  Thank you for being here with us today.

Nick:  It's our pleasure, Shawna.  Thanks for the invitation.

My first question is for you, Lexi.  As I understand it, you had an absolute personal agenda that took you to the Via Verde Dude Ranch, something far removed from a vacation.

Lexi:  That's right.  I was determined to locate my nephew's father and make him take financial responsibility for his son.

But why the Via Verde Dude Ranch in Wyoming?

Lexi:  My sister had always been wild and irresponsible, but when she became pregnant she totally changed.  She doted on her son.  Mother and I kept asking her who the father was but she would only say that the father told her he didn't want anything to do with the baby, that it was her problem and not his.  She eventually admitted to me that the boy's father was Nick Clayton who, along with his brother and mother, owned the Via Verde.  She had met him when she vacationed there and he had taken her to Hawaii which was when she became pregnant.  But she remained adamant that she didn't want anything from him, that she would take care of her son on her own.  She even took on a second job to earn more money.  It was a bad rainstorm that caused the accident when she was on her way to that job.  Custody of my nephew passed to me upon her death.  I decided that Nick Clayton had to take financial responsibility whether he wanted to or not.  So, I booked a three week vacation at the ranch for the sole purpose of confronting him.

Nick:  She totally grabbed my attention as soon as she got off the shuttle bus from the airport.  She had wandered over to the corral where I had just been thrown from a bucking bronco…(chuckles at the mental image) not a very impressive introduction.

Well, that certainly doesn't seem like the type of circumstances that could lead to romance.  Lexi had already made up her mind about the type of person you were.  How were you able to get beyond that?

Nick:  I didn't have a clue about her agenda.  She did mention that her sister had vacationed at the ranch and had said how much she enjoyed it, but her sister's name didn't register with me.

Lexi:  The more I saw him, talked to him, was around him and his family, the more confused I became.  I started doubting my sister's claim about Nick being the father.  I couldn't reconcile what she claimed with the reality of man I had met…and against my better judgment, the man with whom I was becoming personally involved.

Obviously, somewhere along the way you changed your mind about Nick.  How did that come about?  What happened to make you think that perhaps Nick was not your nephew's father?

Lexi:  That's all in the book.

LOL…okay, let me try a different question.  Nick—at what point did you realize that Lexi had a hidden agenda toward you and what that was?

Nick:  (grins) That's in the book, too.

Thank you, Nick and Lexi, for being with us today.

***

THE DADDY SEARCH, a Silhouette Desire by Shawna Delacorte reissued in ebook format.  Available at http://ebooks.eharlequin.com (do search for author name Shawna Delacorte).  Also available from Amazon for Kindle and Barnes and Noble for Nook.

Blurb:

RANCHER DAD?

When Lexi Parker first set foot onto Nick Clayton's dude ranch, she had one goal in mind: to vacation undercover and find out if Nick really was the father of Lexi's precious, now-motherless nephew. It seemed like a perfect plan…

Until Lexi herself succumbed to the cowboy's devastating charms—and found out that this bighearted, honorable rancher was nothing like the love-'em-and-leave-'em rake her sister had portrayed. But if Lexi revealed her secret agenda to Nick now, would she lose her chance with the one man who'd ever stolen her heart?

Inside front cover excerpt:

Which one was the real Nick Clayton? The man her sister had described, or the one Lexi herself had observed?

There was no way you could call Nick irresponsible or callous. She could not imagine him knowingly abandoning his son or tell the boy's mother to get out of his life.

And most devastating of all was Lexi's sense of guilt for her personal involvement with the very man she had come to confront. What was she to believe? Her sister's accusations, or her own observations of a man who made her tingle with excitement and caused her heart to sing?

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Text Copyright © 1999 by SKDennison, Inc.  Cover Art Copyright © 1999 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

STORMBOUND WITH A TYCOON—a conversation with Dylan and Jessica

Harlequin has reissued 15 of my 21 backlist titles in ebook.  Today I'm talking with Dylan Russell and Jessica McGuire from STORMBOUND WITH A TYCOON, a contemporary romance from Harlequin's Silhouette Desire line, originally released in print March 2001 and currently available in ebook.

Hello Dylan and Jessica.  Welcome to my blog.  Thank you for taking the time to be here today.

Dylan:  It's our pleasure, Shawna.

Jessica:  Thank you for the invitation.

I understand there was a connection between the two of you before you were reacquainted at the cabin?

Jessica:  Yes, the connection was my older brother, Justin.

Dylan:  Justin and I were best friends in college.  I could tell Jessica had a crush on me back then (shoots her a sly grin), but she was in high school so I dismissed her as being too young for me to date.  Besides, I had the distinct feeling that it wouldn't have set well with Justin.  After college I moved away and even though Justin and I stayed in touch, I didn't see any more of Jessica.

What did you think about that, Jessica:

Jessica:  I have to admit to that crush.  I was fascinated with him…handsome, charming, an intriguing college man.  But, as Dylan said, there wasn't anything between us.  Over the years, Justin would relay information about Dylan's globe-trotting exploits and business successes, but once they graduated from college, I never saw Dylan again.

Dylan:  Not until that fateful day when she climbed into bed with me.

That sounds like an interesting reunion.  How did that come about?

Jessica:  Wait a minute!  LOL…before you get off on that track, I'd like to say something in my defense.

In your defense?  This sounds like it's going to be a really good story Dylan is about to tell us.  Okay…I'm an equal opportunity interviewer.  Let's hear your excuse first then we'll get Dylan's side of it.  :)

Dylan:  (winks at her).  Yes, let's hear your side of the story first.

Jessica:  Justin and I own the mountain cabin together.  In my defense…Justin didn't tell me he had agreed to let Dylan use it for a few weeks.  The weather was okay in Seattle, but on the Olympic Peninsula where the cabin is…well, I arrived at night during a rain storm.  The power in the area was out which was not unusual during storms.  I made my way through the dark to my bedroom, got undressed, and climbed into bed.  I immediately fell asleep and had no knowledge of anyone else being there until the next morning when I woke up with him in my bed.

Well, that sounds logical.  Now how about equal time to Dylan?

Dylan:  Thanks.  First, let me make it clear that I was in the bed and sound asleep when Jessica climbed under the covers and joined me there.  And in my defense…and also Justin's defense…(turns toward Jessica as he tries to suppress a grin) you told Justin that you were going to be in New York for three weeks.

So, lack of communication started everything off on the wrong foot.

Jessica:  LOL…and it all went downhill from there.

Dylan:  And quickly, too.  The first disaster happened that very morning.  I built a fire in the fireplace to take the chill out of the air and smoke came pouring out into the living room.  She accused me of not knowing enough to make sure the damper was open, but I was quickly vindicated and proven innocent of any wrongdoing in that debacle.

Jessica:  I thought for a minute he had set the cabin on fire.  And, I'm embarrassed to say, I immediately attributed it to what I assumed was his playboy lifestyle and lack of experience with real life.  I had a picture in my mind of someone involved in shady business deals, a womanizer who couldn't or wouldn't make a commitment.  All-in-all, not a very flattering picture.

Dylan:  She definitely had me on the defensive.  I felt I should do whatever I could to redeem myself in her eyes, but I had an upheaval in my life to deal with.  I needed the quiet and mostly the isolation the cabin provided.  I needed to get my life together again.

Jessica:  I couldn't picture someone like my perception of Dylan Russell being content in such a remote location with no social activities or other people.  He kept insisting that he had the right to stay because Justin gave him permission to use the cabin and the fact that I owned half the cabin was immaterial since I was supposed to be in New York.  I suggested that he check into the lodge on the mail road, but he refused to consider it.  He wouldn't say why he wanted to stay in the cabin.

Dylan:  Then the matter was taken out of our hands.  The bridge over the creek…the only way out of the area…was closed because of high water and there was no end in sight for the rain.  We were now stuck in the cabin together with neither one of us having any way out.  So, there was nothing to do but agree to a truce and try to get along.

What was this problem you were trying to work out, Dylan?  It sounds like something pretty serious to drive you to an isolated cabin in the mountains.

Dylan:  Serious?  Very.  What happened had me rethinking my entire life, all the choices I had made over the years, and trying to figure out a new direction for myself.  Jessica McGuire presented way too much of a distraction.  And a temptation.  And a concern.  It left me in a very awkward and uncomfortable position.

What had you in such an unsettled state of mind?

Dylan:  (flashes a teasing grin) That can be found in the book.  Along with Jessica's actions and reactions.  And then there's Justin's input.

Jessica:  Oh, yes.  My brother definitely got off on the wrong track.  But, as Dylan said, it's all in the book.

Thank you Dylan and Jessica for stopping by.

***

STORMBOUND WITH A TYCOON, a Silhouette Desire by Shawna Delacorte reissued in ebook format.  Available at http://ebooks.eharlequin.com  (do search for author name Shawna Delacorte). Also available from Amazon for Kindle and Barnes & Noble for Nook.

Blurb:

AN UNEXPECTED LOVE…

Wealthy, jaded playboy Dylan Russell had sought an isolated cabin in the woods to escape his fast-paced life and reconsider his future. He wanted solitude…but awoke to a woman in his bed! Nothing had prepared Dylan for the sight of his best friend's sister…or the sensual spark that embracing her ignited.

After a canceled project, publicist Jessica McGuire looked forward to days of relaxation. She never expected to encounter the man who had stirred feelings deep in her soul years ago. Stranded with her in a storm, Dylan beckoned her closer with his bedroom eyes. But would Jessica have to be content with only a few nights of passion when she yearned for his love for a lifetime?

Inside Front Cover:

Jessica McGuire didn't know how long she had been sleeping when something nudged her awake. She managed to open one eye enough to see the morning light of a stormy dawn and know that it was still raining. Then a strong arm curled around her waist, jolting her into full wakefulness. A body snuggled up against hers—a naked body that was unmistakably male. A strange, naked, male body. In her bed.

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Text Copyright © 2001 by SKDennison, Inc.  Cover Art Copyright © 2001 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Check out my website for more of my Harlequin ebook reissues.

www.shawnadelacorte.com